Re: RFC: Starting a stable kernel series off the 2.6 kernel

Horst von Brand
2005-12-06T02:23:47Z

Michael Frank <mhf@users.berlios.de> wrote:

[...]

> As to security, most vulnerabilities are hard to exploit
> remotely

Right.

> and practical security can be much more improved
> by hiding detailed software versions from clients.

Ever heard of nmap <http://www.nmap.org>? Or perhaps noticed all kinds of
attacks against Linux using old exploits or Windows specific ones? Hiding
versions is /not/ secure. At most marginally so, and the pain for whoever
needs the version for legitimate reasons just isn't worth it.

> Apache
> 2 on linux 2.6 will do instead of providing full vendor
> specific package versions!
>
> As to drivers, in case 3 month driver delay matters, HW
> vendor can improve situation substantially by not waiting
> 6+ months before (if at all) releasing drivers/docs for
> linux!

For /server/ type workloads, where you /need/ stability, you carefully pick
the hardware and then run a selected "enterprise" distro on it. The distro
people do the hard work of keeping your kernel up to date and secure. And
even worry about a smooth upgrade to the next version. For a price, sure.
But either you really need it (and gladly pay the price) or you don't (in
which case you have nothing to complain about).
--
Dr. Horst H. von Brand User #22616 counter.li.org
Departamento de Informatica Fono: +56 32 654431
Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria +56 32 654239
Casilla 110-V, Valparaiso, Chile Fax: +56 32 797513